Detaria
Detaria is a village independent of the three Kingdoms, located in the south-east canyons of Trepheon. It is an establishment run almost exclusively by mancers, and possesses a system of democracy in its small community. The inhabitants of this village are remnants from the Dormian Empire. History Centuries before the collapse of Dormia, a band of scholars and mancers were sent to the sprawling, maze-like canyons to unearth its secrets and study the valuable deposits of schakalite found there. The subsequent colony founded by this expedition lead to the opening of the large mine inside the canyon, and as the Dormians eventually mapped out the entirety of the enormous natural labyrinth, a temple was built inside as a secure and hidden location to store the many cultural and economical treasures of Dormia. After the fall of Dormia, the settlement continued to run despite the lack of support from the Empire. They were forced to become self sustaining, and so used their talented herbomancers to create isolated farms. Because the village no longer needed to mine schakalite, manual labourers were reassigned to become farmers, builders and guards to defend from potential threats. As the Eastern, Western and Centralian kingdoms emerged in Trepheon the mines were reopened to allow for trade of their valuable and plentiful ores; the Eastern Empire, due to the close proximity to its capital and the vast resources at their disposal were an extremely important partner in trade. Detaria were a significant factor in making the Empire a powerful and dangerous force, as schakalite’s unique sharpness blended perfectly with the style of weaponry the kingdom utilised. The influx of schakalite ended after the collapse of the Empire - however, even if the East did have the resources to continue trade, it would ultimately be irrelevant; the network of mines became infested with deadly creatures, and the settlement’s small forces were unable to clean them out. Trade with Central and West are slim to non-existent due to their distance. The schakalite mines have been closed for decades now, and so even in the East weapons created from the material are extremely difficult to find in good condition. The canyon community are very independant and reclusive, rarely leaving the safety of their maze. Occasionally, however, they will send individuals out of the canyon for important missions, such as obtaining food if they cannot harvest more, or tracking a criminal that has committed horrible crimes. The village is very much influenced by mancy, with magical wonders being seen through every window and arcane innovation being heavily encouraged. Government Detaria is run almost entirely by a council of four ‘Archons’, who are nominated and elected by the tightly knit community of the village. The duty of the Archons is to listen to the complaints and requests of the villagers and make decisions on behalf of the settlement. Archon elections are held every year, with elections being held upon the death of one or more Archons. Elections are held publicly within the village. Every available civilian comes together to vote on who they want to be an Archon, however despite this democracy there is no limit on how long each Archon can serve, and so the council has generally remained the same for large stretches of time. Only a mancer can be elected to become an Archon. Because of this inequality, there is often conflict between the mancer population and the miners/labour workers. However, this very rarely escalates beyond insults due to the community generally being quite close and connected with each other. Detaria also has a smaller, less influential system of community meetings, which is headed by a chosen representative for the miner and labour force population. This representative has no actual power, however holds the responsibility of attempting to persuade the Archons to take action on issues which the labour community raises. Culture and Community Detaria’s culture revolves heavily around knowledge of the arcane, and the progression of mancy; they are known throughout Trepheon as having the largest collection of mancy scrolls and tomes, which are stored safely in a vault whose location is known only to the Archons. Children raised in Detaria are encouraged to train their bodies and their minds to prepare themselves for the vitae process. They are assigned which mancy they will follow at a very young age based on the needs of the village, and are forced to stick to this form in order to increase their chances of surviving the meditation. There is a very low vitae death rate from Detaria’s unique form of training, however it is debatable whether such intense and regulated education is beneficial to one’s mental health in general. Because Detaria has a small population, the citizens of the village tend to be extremely close; almost like family. Indeed, when even one Detarian dies it is mourned throughout the entire settlement and they are treated to a proper funeral. Detarian funerals are a fascinating ritual in which the deceased’s most prized magical possession is buried with them under the hard rock of the canyon, using terramancers to form unmarked graves. The resting places of Detarians are not marked, as the villagers do not want the bodies of their loved ones defiled and their buried possessions stolen. Detarians believe that the items buried with the dead absorb the spirit of their owner once buried with them, and this spirit goes on to protect the canyons for eternity. Detaria’s tight, familial community has lead to the Detarians becoming rather nationalistic and wary of outsiders. Whilst they do allow people to visit the village, foreigners are generally not treated warmly unless they prove themselves to be true friends and allies to the people of Detaria. Despite personal relationships generally being quite tight, there is an unseen conflict between the mancer and miner communities which has been brewing for quite some time. This is largely due to the small scale caste system present within the town: mancers are expected to breed with other mancers, whilst it is the norm for miners and other non-mancer manual workers to engage in relationships with each other, lest they be shunned by their fellow Detarians. The children of two mancers are raised, too, as a mancer, having their magic chosen for them at a young age based on the needs of the town. Similarly, non-mancers are expected to raise their children into their profession and they are not given access to the knowledge and resources required to study for a mancy. Because of the recent shut down of the mines, the miner population of Detaria has become disenfranchised and low on money, being forced to do odd jobs around the town with fellow non-mancers. Due to this, tensions between Detarians is at an all-time high. Laws and Justice Justice in Detaria applies mostly to visitors and travellers, as the familial relationship between the members of the actual community means that crimes against each other are exceedingly rare. Should an actual resident of Detaria commit a crime against another Detarian, they are tried by the Archons: a privilege not granted to the average visitor, who are generally judged on the spot. Stealing Thieves in Detaria are treated harshly, with both of their cheeks branded with hot iron on their first offence. On their second offence, their dominant hand is held in flames for a long period of time. On their third offence, their entire face is burnt in flames, and should someone be foolish enough to be caught a fourth time, their entire body is simply set on fire and they are left to die, or survive and be permanently deformed. Assault Attacking another person within Detaria is a dangerous game. Should you be caught, the Detarians run on an “eye for an eye” basis: should a man punch another man, the victim is allowed to attack his assaulter in the same way, and as simply as that justice is served. This system, however, is only granted to citizens of Detaria. Should a Detarian punch a visitor, it is extremely unlikely the Detarian perpetrator will actually be brought to justice for his actions. Rape The crime of rape is a matter settled rather simply in Detaria. A visitor who rapes a Detarian will be castrated… by a pyromancer’s flames. They are then stripped naked, a bag is tied around their head and they are abandoned in a random location of the canyon. Should a Detarian rape a visitor, however, cheeks will likely be turned; the small population means that everyone - everything - is needed to grow and maintain that population. Murder As one may expect from Detaria’s following of the “eye for an eye” principle, murder of a Detarian civilian holds the punishment of forced poisoning, usually by hemlock. Once again, though, the murder of an outsider by a Detarian is likely to be swept under the rug. Treason/Inciting Unrest Treason from a Detarian will be brought to trial to the Archon, and if guilty, carries the punishment of death. Treason in Detaria is defined as directly conspiring or acting against the interests of Detaria. Treason on behalf of a fellow Detarian has not been brought to trial in many decades; however, raiders and bandits are often tried under this law (assuming they have been captured and not killed by the town’s guerrilla forces). Military Detaria's "military" is more or so a militia, which militia is entirely defensive, as the settlement has neither the intention nor the resources to launch an attack on any other kingdom. Detaria’s militia has mastered and memorized the way the canyon works, and will generally use guerilla warfare from the tops of the canyon to defend their home. Raiders rarely even manage to reach the village itself, as they are picked off from above as they navigate the canyon. Whilst Detaria’s guerilla forces are extremely effective and deadly when operating in their terrain, it should be noted that their training puts a heavy emphasis on working together to combine strengths and weaknesses. This means that, when fighting one-on-one, they are generally at a huge disadvantage as they are used to having a partner to back them up. Furthermore, the Detarian Militia are ineffective in open combat without the benefit of the canyons. Mazemovers (see below), especially, are a powerful threat largely due to the fact that they know how to manipulate their home to their advantage. In an open field, or even in any space which isn’t as tight as the canyon walls, their main weapon is neutered. These guerilla forces consist of multiple troops: Stormbrands A squad consisting of electromancers and aeromancers, the Stormbrands are elite and deadly battlemancers who have learned to meld their powers together to create devastating effects. This squad consists of two types of mages whose abilities are directly compatible when combined in combat. Flamewalkers As the name suggests, Flamewalkers are pyromancers; the best of the best. Whilst they are one squad, Flamewalkers will often split up into twos or even individually in order to maximize their reach and attack enemies from multiple sides. Mazemovers The terramancers of Detaria’s military, the Mazemovers know the routes of the canyon like the back of their hand. This squad of mancers will only engage enemies in combat when necessary; their defense tactics are confusion, as they manipulate the walls of the canyon themselves to direct raiders into traps and ambushes. Hailers Should a non-mancer wish to join the village’s elite guerilla warfare squad, they certainly can; the Hailers are deadly archers, working from the hidden crevices and perches around the canyon to fire arrows into unsuspecting enemies with terrifying precision. They carry a short supply of arrows, however each one is fitted with a schakalite head. Needless to say, they are trained to recover each and every arrow they fire. Aegi The Aegi are simply guards within the village itself. Due to the low population, there is no hierarchy and so the Aegi work at their own discretion. The Archons rarely intervene in guard matters, unless both the victim and perpetrator of a crime are Detarians. The Archons are also assigned their own specialist division of Aegi, who are often skilled veterans. Although not as skilled as elite troops such as the Western Paladins or Eastern Imperial Guards, they are largely underestimated due to Detaria's isolation and ambiguity to outsiders. This makes them extremely effective fighters - especially when in their home terrain.